Members' Area
Members' Area

Citizens' Assembly on
Drugs Use
Completed Meetings
Meeting One - 15-16 April 2023
For livestream videos and presentations follow the above link to the public site.
Provides an overview of the themes discussed by members at three or more tables at Meeting One. There were fifteen tables present for the meeting. The themes identified do not indicate that members agreed on a potential view, but rather reflect that there were discussions at the table centering on this topic.
A wide range of questions were collected by notetakers at each of the tables. Many of these questions will be addressed over the course of the next meetings of the Citizens’ Assembly, some however were considered by the Heath Research Board (HRB) and this document provides a response to those questions.
A number of members, both through the facilitators at the tables and via the post-meeting evaluation form, requested further information on the different types of drugs used in Ireland. The HSE National Social Inclusion Office manages drugs.ie, which provides information on types of drugs as well as a National Directory of Drugs and Alcohol Services.
Meeting Two - 13-14 May 2023
For livestream videos and presentations follow the above link to the public site.
Provides an overview of the themes discussed by members at three or more tables at Meeting Two. There were fifteen tables present for the meeting. The themes identified do not indicate that members agreed on a potential view, but rather reflect that there were discussions at the table centering on each topic.
Meeting Three - 23-24 June 2023
For livestream videos and presentations follow the above link to the public site.
Additional reports and materials provided by the speakers and contributors of Meeting Three
Provides an overview of the themes discussed by members at three or more tables at Meeting Three. There were fifteen tables present for the meeting. The themes identified do not indicate that members agreed on a potential view, but rather reflect that there were discussions at the table centering on each topic.
Meeting Four - 2-3 September 2023
For livestream videos and presentations follow the above link to the public site.
Provides an overview of the themes discussed by members at three or more tables at Meeting Four. There were fourteen tables present for the meeting. The themes identified do not indicate that members agreed on a potential view, but rather reflect that there were discussions at the table centering on this topic.
- Department of Health: Alternatives to Coercive Sanctions – the Irish Perspective
- UNODC (2023) World Drug Report 2023
- Euro-DEN (2020) Technical Report on Drug-related hospital emergency presentations in Europe: update from the Euro-DEN Plus expert network
- Euro-DEN (2023) new data explorer tool on drug-related hospital emergencies from 2014 to 2021
- Callaghan et al (2023) Impact of Canada’s cannabis legalisation on youth emergency department visits for cannabis-related disorders and poisoning in Ontario and Alberta, 2015–2019
- HRB (2021) The 2019–20 Irish National Drug and Alcohol Survey: main findings
- TDATF (2021) The landscape of substance misuse and its impact on the communities of Tallaght Drugs & Alcohol Task Force
- Drug policy in Switzerland
- The Probation Service (2021) Informing & Supporting Change: Drug and Alcohol Misuse among People on Probation Supervision by Dr Louise Rooney
- The Probation Service (2021) Moving Forward Together: Mental Health Among Persons Supervised by the Probation Service by Dr Christina L. Power
- Department of Justice and Department of Health (2022) High Level Task Force to consider the mental health and addiction challenges of those who interact with the criminal justice system
- 02 September 2023: Irish Examiner Justice ministers and officials slammed for delays in introducing drug diversion programme
- 01 September 2023: The Pat Kenny Show – Paul Reid on the fourth meeting of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use
Meeting Five - 30 September - 01 October 2023
For livestream videos and presentations follow the above link to the public site.
Provides an overview of the themes discussed by members at three or more tables at Meeting Five. There were fourteen tables present for the meeting. The themes identified do not indicate that members agreed on a potential view, but rather reflect that there were discussions at the table centering on this topic.
- UNODC/WHO (2018) International Standards on Drug Use Prevention, Second updated edition
- EMCDDA (2019) European Prevention Curriculum, A handbook for decision-makers, opinion-makers and policy-makers in science-based prevention of substance use
- Budget 2023 Factsheet
- Xchange Prevention registry
- The Drugs Use in Higher Education in Ireland (DUHEI) Survey 2021
- EMCDDA Cannabis legislation in Europe 2017
- EMCDDA Cannabis legislation in Europe 2023
- 28 September 2023: Chair, Paul Reid, interviewed on Drivetime, RTE Radio 1
- 1 October 2023: RTÉ News Report, RTÉ News Twitter/X
Meeting Six - 21-22 October 2023
For livestream videos and results follow the above link to the public site.
To view the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use Recommendations follow the above link to the public site.